5 Things You Didn’t Know About Dandruff

Use these tips to fend off flakes for good

Spring is officially in season: you’re starting to ditch your jacket, show some leg, and even leave work early on Fridays. The downside: You can no longer pass your dandruff off as snowflakes.

Luckily, your fix may have been introduced at the 7th World Congress for Hair Research in Edinburgh, Scotland from May 4-6, 2013. When one group of people used a dandruff shampoo with zinc pyrithione (such as Head & Shoulders), one group used a dandruff shampoo with climbazole (not available in the U.S.), and the other group used a non-dandruff shampoo for a full year, researchers found that the shampoo with zinc pyrithione showed the most improvement. “The particles deposit on the hair more effectively than climbazole,” explains Graham Turner, Hair Discover Category Project Leader at Unilever.

Still, there’s a lot more to be learned about your flakey foes in order to fend them off for good. Here are five things you didn’t know about dandruff:

1.) It’s caused by yeast“A lot of people think it’s caused by dry skin,” says Luis Garza, MD, PhD, and assistant professor of dermatology at John Hopkins School of Medicine. “But it’s actually caused by a yeast.” The yeast is a normal part of our skin, but it can overgrow (researchers aren’t sure of the reason), causing dandruff.

2.) It may accelerate hair loss“There’s a theory that your body produces inflammatory cells to fight the dandruff-causing yeast, and this ultimately speeds up the process of hair loss,” says Dr. Garza. It’s still just a theory, but by fighting your flakes, you may be preserving your hair.

3.) It’s worse in the winter“Cold, dry weather weakens the scalp’s skin barrier making it more vulnerable to irritation,” says Turner. Continue to use your anti-dandruff shampoo throughout year, even if it seems like the flakes have gone away.

4.) It might be psoriasis“It also involves scale-like things on the scalp, so the two can be confused,” says Dr. Garza. See your dermatologist if your dandruff shampoo isn’t working after two months.

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